A number of techniques are known for accelerating input-output performance of storage systems. For example, multi-path file system (MPFS) is a product developed by EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass. This product can accelerate performance of a network file system, including by way of example, conventional network file systems known in the art as NFS and CIFS, one or more of which may involve use of network attached storage (NAS).
In a typical conventional arrangement, an MPFS client obtains control data, including disk volumes, block identifiers and other file layout information, from an MPFS server implemented in or otherwise associated with a network file system, and performs input-output (IO) operations such as read operations and write operations directly with a back-end storage array. Accordingly, the MPFS client need not access all of its data through the MPFS server and its associated network file system. Instead, file data is exchanged directly between the client and the storage array, and only associated control data passes through the server.
By providing separate transport mechanisms for file data and control data, MPFS decreases overall network traffic, and increases the speed at which the client can access file data in the storage array. For example, MPFS can allow thousands of clients to access shared file data with higher performance than conventional file sharing protocols such as NFS and CIFS. MPFS may therefore be viewed as combining the file sharing advantages of a network file system with high performance and efficient data delivery of a storage area network (SAN). MPFS is particularly well suited for use in applications such as high performance computing, grid computing, distributed computing, virtualization, and file system backup.
Despite the considerable advantages associated with MPFS, a need remains for additional improvements. For example, further acceleration of IO operations, leading to enhanced storage system performance relative to conventional practice, would be desirable.